Enviro Maxx with Heat distribution kit install & review

[DeOrgy]

Hey team, I have been lurking here for a couple months while I researched and planned out my current pellet stove setup. I had been looking at The Enviro Maxx at my local fireplace store, and got my hands on a 1 month old used unit for 2800 cash (Canadian), saving my self 700 off the dealer price of $3500. I had them run a chimney for me, costing right about $2400 piped from the basement, straight up through my main floor and out the roof of my 1230 square foot bungalow. The heat distribution kit was an extra $399, and if I recall correctly I spent about $175 ducting the heat distribution kit myself to my main floor.

I wanted to share a few of my tips on install that I had to stumble over not being able to find a whole lot of concrete information on, and one glaring issue with the manual I have to call the dealer/manufacturer about.

So far I absolutely love the stove! I used it for 3 days in the basement without the distribution kit averaging about -10 celsius outside temperature using fans to move the heat up my open staircase central to my home. I had to run it between setting 3 and 4 on manual mode to keep my house about 21 degrees. It did not work very well and I had even precut my duct hole in the floor and used a fan to move the air through it as well. It got me a little worried that if the heat distribution kit did not function well, that I had just spend almost 6 grand to burn through a LOT of pellets to fight the external temperature keeping my house warm. I am using a Lux 9600TS thermostat to run the stove.

I picked up my heat distribution kit, had it installed quite quickly, it wasnt very difficult, but I will mention one thing that I had to scratch my head all afternoon to figure out though. In the heat distribution kit manual, it has three different sensors it has you wire to the stove. The one sensor, a 175 degree sensor wired with red wires in the kit, the manual tells you to wire this to the thermostat connection. This is all well and good if you want to run the stove in manual mode. The problem is, I wanted to run a thermostat. I couldnt find anywhere in either manual addressing this particular setup. The stove had worked excellent when I had it wired to the thermostat pre HDK kit install. After installation, everything worked good except the mode light was constant solid, signifying I was in manual mode, as in no hi low/auto mode available. Like it wasnt detecting the thermostat. This perplexed me for longer than I care to admit. I had wired the thermostat AND that sensor to the thermostat connection the control board. This was the mistake, and it isnt mentioned in the manual. IF you want to run the HDK with a thermostat, do not wire the 175 degree sensor to the control board, leave it unhooked and wire your thermostat to the control board. Using my ohm meter I verified that the sensor is a normally closed circuit, and when the sensor reaches its determined temperature, opens. Essentially what this means is when this sensor is connected to the control board, the stove will run in manual mode at whatever temperature setting you have set, much like the stove does when it comes factory with a jumper in the thermostat connection. (The previous owner had already removed the jumper on mine mentioned in the manual, I assume he was on a thermostat as well.) When the sensor opens the circuit at 175 degrees, the stove drops back down to setting one, flashing mode light.

When the Enviro maxx is using a thermostat, the mode light should always be flashing until the thermostat calls for heat, then it will go solid and the stove will ramp up to the temperature setting you have set on the control board. I hope that is clear enough, I am going to call Enviro this week and verify my findings, and make sure they intend to have that sensor connected only if not using a thermostat. It makes sense from a safety stand point in that context, as nothing will tell the stove to turn off when things heat up.

After installation of the ducts with the heat distribution kit, my house is an OVEN on hi low mode. It is absolutely spectacular. We have not had many of our normal really cold winter days up here in Ontario yet (-30 celsius), but I dont foresee any issue keeping the house warm other than using more pellets, which is expected. Currently on hi/low mode, my stove cycles onto the high setting (I have it on setting 4) maybe twice per day, then setting 1 keeps it up nicely with my swing setting on the thermostat set for .5 degrees and set to 22 celsius. I have now tried two different pellets, the first being Curran hardwood pellets. These seemed to burn ok, I have yet to have a clinker and the heat seemed within reason. Just yesterday, I bought Lacwood softwood pellets, and holy hell what a difference in heat! For comparison sake, the Currans, when running on setting 4, at my one vent with an infrared thermometer, I would see about 150 degrees at the vent. WIth these new lacwood pellets, I am seeing 182-185 degrees on the same setting. On low, its immediately noticable by feel how much more heat is coming out of the kit.

Another tidbit about the heat distribution kit, on hi low mode that I run, on low, or setting one, the stove did not run the blower fan before installing the HDK. After installing the HDK, the stove will cycle the blower fan on as needed to cool the stove back down. This is a nice addition, as the stove now seems to run the blower for 5 minutes every 5-10 minutes, which circulates air and still pumps nice warm air upstairs. I keep the grill on the front of the heat distribution kit completely closed, and the radiant heat from the stove is keeping my recently gutted (bare wall, no insulation basement) at 19 celsius still.

When installing the thermostat, I had trouble trying to figure out what wires to use. For anyone using the same thermostat as me, you need two wires, one wired to RH (factory jumped to RC) and W1. On the stove control board it does not matter which wire goes where.

Needless to say, I am beyond happy with this setup, and even with only 2 weeks run time, at this current time would highly recommend it. I will attach a few pictures of my setup and the two brands of pellets I have now tried. I will warn, the Lacwood pellets though burning much hotter, do have larger pieces mixed in. So far that has not been an issue with my stove.

My duct runs are about 10 and 28 feet. The long run still has excellent airflow. My dad came over to help me run the ducts, and we minimized the amount of hard corners as you can see. Thanks dad!

I hope this isnt too long to be of any use, and maybe I can help a fellow noob out there.

-DeOrgy

 

[Lake Girl]

Heat distribution kit tends to create grief for almost everyone Thanks for the info on the sensors and thermostat as that may be a new one ... haven't read through the old thread in a while. Thought they were supposed to update the instructions (link in thread below?)

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/enviro-maxx-high-limit-sensor-tripping.133760/#post-1797344

 

[DeOrgy]

Hey thanks for the link, I had read that thread when researching the HDK, I could see the 175 degree sensor being a problem running the stove in manual mode on a high output with it tripping and shutting down the stove back to setting 1. It seems no matter what context that sensor is supposed to be used in does it function in a logical manner. They definitely have not updated the instructions, I will tell you that haha.

 

[KSswede]

Hey team, I have been lurking here for a couple months while I researched and planned out my current pellet stove setup. I had been looking at The Enviro Maxx at my local fireplace store, and got my hands on a 1 month old used unit for 2800 cash (Canadian), saving my self 700 off the dealer price of $3500. I had them run a chimney for me, costing right about $2400 piped from the basement, straight up through my main floor and out the roof of my 1230 square foot bungalow. The heat distribution kit was an extra $399, and if I recall correctly I spent about $175 ducting the heat distribution kit myself to my main floor.

I wanted to share a few of my tips on install that I had to stumble over not being able to find a whole lot of concrete information on, and one glaring issue with the manual I have to call the dealer/manufacturer about.

So far I absolutely love the stove! I used it for 3 days in the basement without the distribution kit averaging about -10 celsius outside temperature using fans to move the heat up my open staircase central to my home. I had to run it between setting 3 and 4 on manual mode to keep my house about 21 degrees. It did not work very well and I had even precut my duct hole in the floor and used a fan to move the air through it as well. It got me a little worried that if the heat distribution kit did not function well, that I had just spend almost 6 grand to burn through a LOT of pellets to fight the external temperature keeping my house warm. I am using a Lux 9600TS thermostat to run the stove.

I picked up my heat distribution kit, had it installed quite quickly, it wasnt very difficult, but I will mention one thing that I had to scratch my head all afternoon to figure out though. In the heat distribution kit manual, it has three different sensors it has you wire to the stove. The one sensor, a 175 degree sensor wired with red wires in the kit, the manual tells you to wire this to the thermostat connection. This is all well and good if you want to run the stove in manual mode. The problem is, I wanted to run a thermostat. I couldnt find anywhere in either manual addressing this particular setup. The stove had worked excellent when I had it wired to the thermostat pre HDK kit install. After installation, everything worked good except the mode light was constant solid, signifying I was in manual mode, as in no hi low/auto mode available. Like it wasnt detecting the thermostat. This perplexed me for longer than I care to admit. I had wired the thermostat AND that sensor to the thermostat connection the control board. This was the mistake, and it isnt mentioned in the manual. IF you want to run the HDK with a thermostat, do not wire the 175 degree sensor to the control board, leave it unhooked and wire your thermostat to the control board. Using my ohm meter I verified that the sensor is a normally closed circuit, and when the sensor reaches its determined temperature, opens. Essentially what this means is when this sensor is connected to the control board, the stove will run in manual mode at whatever temperature setting you have set, much like the stove does when it comes factory with a jumper in the thermostat connection. (The previous owner had already removed the jumper on mine mentioned in the manual, I assume he was on a thermostat as well.) When the sensor opens the circuit at 175 degrees, the stove drops back down to setting one, flashing mode light.

When the Enviro maxx is using a thermostat, the mode light should always be flashing until the thermostat calls for heat, then it will go solid and the stove will ramp up to the temperature setting you have set on the control board. I hope that is clear enough, I am going to call Enviro this week and verify my findings, and make sure they intend to have that sensor connected only if not using a thermostat. It makes sense from a safety stand point in that context, as nothing will tell the stove to turn off when things heat up.

After installation of the ducts with the heat distribution kit, my house is an OVEN on hi low mode. It is absolutely spectacular. We have not had many of our normal really cold winter days up here in Ontario yet (-30 celsius), but I dont foresee any issue keeping the house warm other than using more pellets, which is expected. Currently on hi/low mode, my stove cycles onto the high setting (I have it on setting 4) maybe twice per day, then setting 1 keeps it up nicely with my swing setting on the thermostat set for .5 degrees and set to 22 celsius. I have now tried two different pellets, the first being Curran hardwood pellets. These seemed to burn ok, I have yet to have a clinker and the heat seemed within reason. Just yesterday, I bought Lacwood softwood pellets, and holy hell what a difference in heat! For comparison sake, the Currans, when running on setting 4, at my one vent with an infrared thermometer, I would see about 150 degrees at the vent. WIth these new lacwood pellets, I am seeing 182-185 degrees on the same setting. On low, its immediately noticable by feel how much more heat is coming out of the kit.

Another tidbit about the heat distribution kit, on hi low mode that I run, on low, or setting one, the stove did not run the blower fan before installing the HDK. After installing the HDK, the stove will cycle the blower fan on as needed to cool the stove back down. This is a nice addition, as the stove now seems to run the blower for 5 minutes every 5-10 minutes, which circulates air and still pumps nice warm air upstairs. I keep the grill on the front of the heat distribution kit completely closed, and the radiant heat from the stove is keeping my recently gutted (bare wall, no insulation basement) at 19 celsius still.

When installing the thermostat, I had trouble trying to figure out what wires to use. For anyone using the same thermostat as me, you need two wires, one wired to RH (factory jumped to RC) and W1. On the stove control board it does not matter which wire goes where.

Needless to say, I am beyond happy with this setup, and even with only 2 weeks run time, at this current time would highly recommend it. I will attach a few pictures of my setup and the two brands of pellets I have now tried. I will warn, the Lacwood pellets though burning much hotter, do have larger pieces mixed in. So far that has not been an issue with my stove.

My duct runs are about 10 and 28 feet. The long run still has excellent airflow. My dad came over to help me run the ducts, and we minimized the amount of hard corners as you can see. Thanks dad!

I hope this isnt too long to be of any use, and maybe I can help a fellow noob out there.

-DeOrgy

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I have a new Maxx and my burn pot overflows after 12 hours of use. The feed rate is on the lowest setting, combustion trim on 3 and tried several heat settings and air settings. Have you have any issues? Do you know how many seconds between feed drops it is on low? Thanks.

 

[DeOrgy]

When I first got my maxx it did overflow the burnpot and go out, I'm guessing that's what yours was doing. I bought mine used and the previous owner had adjusted the trim. I am using 2 for the combustion blower trim, and 4 for the feed trim. If I recall correctly these are factory settings. What was happening with mine was the combustion blower was "blowing the fire out" when it was on 3 and low heat mode for extended periods.

If this sounds like your behaviour, try setting the feed rate back to 4 and the combustion blower to 2. I'm not using an outside air kit, which may affect my settings. Everyone will be a bit different. You also want to adjust your lever on the left side to have your flames not lazy, but not a blow torch. Somewhere in the middle. I don't have the special tool yet to check the proper pressure, but I pulled mine out so the flame was lazy, then just kept inching it in until it was a good blown flame, but not "blow torch" like tossig excessive fuel out of the burn pot. Other members can probably chime in better here that have more experience. I am not at home with my manual, but if I remember correctly this setting needs to be done with the stove on high, or 5 if you will.

Let me know if this helps.
DeOrgy

 

[KSswede]

Actually, I just moved the combustion trim up to 4, the feed rate is still on 1, the heat setting is on 3 and selector on hi/lo. Flame is active, not lazy or blow torch. It seems to be burning the pellets on low without build-up but I really wont know for sure until morning. No outside air source, but not in a tight building. Straight pipe out the side wall and using Pennington Premium hardwood pellets. I really hope this works since I have tried about 20 different combinations of settings so far. What is your max pellet burn rate during cold temps and #5 heat setting? Mine maxed out at 120lbs in 24hrs with night temps around 10/15 degs and day temps 20/25 degs.

 

[DeOrgy]

Actually, I just moved the combustion trim up to 4, the feed rate is still on 1, the heat setting is on 3 and selector on hi/lo. Flame is active, not lazy or blow torch. It seems to be burning the pellets on low without build-up but I really wont know for sure until morning. No outside air source, but not in a tight building. Straight pipe out the side wall and using Pennington Premium hardwood pellets. I really hope this works since I have tried about 20 different combinations of settings so far. What is your max pellet burn rate during cold temps and #5 heat setting? Mine maxed out at 120lbs in 24hrs with night temps around 10/15 degs and day temps 20/25 degs.

I hope it works for you too. That seems like a awful low feed rate though, you may have to turn it up if the fire keeps going out. I am not sure if the stove will sense that and reignite, but that could be hard on the igniter if it does. I use the heat distribution kit and it made a huge difference. Where the first few days installed I ran it on constant 3 or 4 to maintain 22 Celsius upstairs in my bungalow, with the kit I run Hi low, and for instance today was -7 Celsius and it never needed to kick onto high once. The heat it was pumping up on setting one actually brought my house temperatures up a bit. When it was cold the other day, -18 Celsius over night it kicked on a few times, but I have been averaging about 1.1-1.2 40 pound bags a day it seems. Nowhere close to 80 pounds let alone 120 pounds of fuel. That's a lot, I'm guessing your setup is In a basement too? I have no idea what my burn rate on 5 would be, probably close to the manufacturer printed results. If I tried to burn 120 pounds of fuel my house would be 40 celsisus lol

*edit* you turned your combustion blower up? That's the opposite of what I suggested. My combustion blower needed to be lowered, its on 2, my feed rate is on 4

 

[reg1952]

I have a Maxx as well. On winter 3 with it. Made my own distribution kit for mine and love it. I wont post pics of it because everyone will jump on me and tell me how illegal it is and that I am going to kill my family. My Maxx has saved me thousands of dollars on oil and paid for it self 1/2 way though last winter.It eats any pellet I throw at it and just get burning away. Great stove.

 

[Chris F.]

Thanks for this review, the tip about the thermostat wire was very helpful. It's too hot to fire it up now and check, but it makes sense from the wiring diagram.

 

[Lake Girl]

Thanks for this review, the tip about the thermostat wire was very helpful. It's too hot to fire it up now and check, but it makes sense from the wiring diagram.

Let us know how you make out when you are up and running! As everyone's set up is slightly different, most trouble spots get picked up. Makes it easier to troubleshoot for new users...